Locomotive crane



'Dec. 28,1926. 1,611,910

J. C. WHEAT ET AL LOCOMOTIVE CRANE Filed Oct. 27

1924 3 sheets-sheet '1 Dec. 28 1926. I 1,611,970

J. C. WHEAT E1 AL LOCOMOTJVE CRANE Filed Oct. 27 192 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS are/16 1 Dec. 28,1926. 1,611,970

J. C. WHEAT ET AL LOCOMOTIVE CRANE Filed Oct. 27, 1924 s smu -sheet 3 Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

NITED STATES JAMES C. WHEAT, 0F BAY CITY, MICHIGAN, AND CLARENCE E. LOTT, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCOMGII'VE (ER-AME.

Application filed October 27, 1924.

This invention relates to cranes and the like, and especially to locomotive cranes used for general utility purposes on railroad right of way.

The prime object of the invention is to design a crane having a special shaped cab which when swung to a predetermined point, will not project beyond the conventional in dividual car clearance lines, nor obstruct traiiic on the tracks adjacent thereto.

Another object is to provide means for limiting the swing of the crane, together with means for absorbing the shock when the crane has reached said swing limit.

A further object is to design a full revolving locomotive crane which can be utilized for all classes of work at present performed by the conventional crane, and which can also be safely utilized for cleaning ballast or ditching, without tying up or obstructing the right of wayon the adjacent tracks,

other than those on which it is operating, and onwhich the ballast is being cleaned.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it be ing understood that changes may be made in the form, proportion and construction of the several parts, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

In the drawings.

Fig. 1. is a transverse end view showing tour parallel tracks on one set of tracks our improved crane is shown ditching along the right of way, on another track it is shown picking up ballast, the usual clearance lines for trains being indicated by the dotted lines on all of the tracks.

Fig. 2. is a top plan view of the trackage and equipment described in Fig. 1.

Fig. is a side elevation of our improved crane, together with a car for receiving the dirt and debris cleaned from the ballast.

Fig. l. is a fragmentary top plan view of the crane truck illustrating the circular track.

Fig. 5. is a side view of the guide showing one oi the shock absorbers attached thereto.

Fig. 6. is a transverse sectional View of the circular track.

Referring now particularly to the dra'-'- ings in which we have shown the preferred Serial No. 746,210.

embodiment of our invention, the letters A, B, C and I) designate adjacent standard gauge railroad tracks over which passenger and freight trains operate, and in order that the nature of the work may be fully understood, a short rsum of the work to be accomplished will be given.

A recent development in railroad work is that of cleaning ballast on the right of way, which consists in separating the dirt, dbris etc., from the ballast, and then returning the cleaned ballast to the right of way. This is done by manually forking the foul ballast from between the ties and piling it in the center ditch, from where it is picked upby the crane bucket and discharged onto a screen which can be mounted on a gondola car, so that the screenings consisting of the dirt, cinders, and foreign debris will fall into the car, the clean ballast discharging onto the roadbed, and is manually forked in place between the ties.

The bucket is usually equipped with teeth to tear up the compacted ballast to a depth oi about twenty inches below the rail, this together with the ballast piled thereon is deposited on a screen as above described. The ballast train on one track handles the ballast on its own, and one adjacent track, and must keep clear of regular trains. One right of way where there are a number of parallel tracks, it is very desirable that not more than one track be tied up and closed to traffic, but where the ballast is also being cleaned on an adjacent track, said track can be under slow orders, while the track on the opposite side of the crane can be un' der unrestricted speed orders, without oh struction or hindrance from the ballast cleaning operations, and when ditching is carried on, all of the other tracks can be under unrestricted speed orders.

W hen the conventional full revolving locomotive is used for this class of work, the cab thereof will project beyond its individual right of way clearance line, and will obstruct trafiic when swung to position to pick up the ballast between the tracks, or in loading the bucket when ditching, consequently, the crane operator must have the crane well within the clearance line to avoid through trains on the adjacent track, otherwise the cab will be struck by the passing train with the resultr'int property loss and possibility of human injury. We have thereloo 8 hangs therefrom. The swing of the cab can be limited in a number of different ways, and we do not wish to be limited to any specific structure. In the present instance we provide a circular track or slot 9 at either end of the truck, and a guide 10 is slidably mounted therein. This slot can be formed in any desired manner, and com= prises a bottom plate 11 secured to the platform of the truck, spaced apart curved filler strips 12 are mounted on the plate, and a pair of plates 13 are placed thereon, all being secured together by means of bolts or the like, and end plates 14: being securely riveted at each end as shown.

The guide 10 is formed with spaced apart vertically extending walls 10 and is slidably mounted in this slot 9, and spaced apart openings 13 are provided therein, bolts 16 extending therethrough and to which the shock absorbers 17 are connected. The shock absorbers canbe of any desired construction, either enclosed or open, in the present instance we provide a U-shaped bolt 18 which extends through a pair of spaced apart plates 19 and 19 and which are provided with suitable openings to receive it. A coiled spring 20 is interposed between these plates, and an eyebolt 21 extends through the said plates and spring, being provided with a nut at its lower end, the upper end being provided with an eye adaped to receive a bolt 22 by means of which the eyebolt is connected to the member 23, said member being suitably anchored and secured to the frame work at the base of the cab, and it will be obvious that when the cab is swung, and the guides strike the end of the slot, that the shock occasioned thereby will be absorbed by the spring.

A member 24 is also secured to the cab as shown, and is provided with spaced apart openings 25 therein for detachably securing the ends of the shock absorbers thereto, when it is desired to disconnect the swing limiting means to allow the crane to freely revolve as required in other classes of work.

As above stated the crane is adaptable for all other classes of work performed by the conventional crane, the only addition being that of suitable detachable means for limiting. the swing of the cab; the design of the cab however requires the rearrangement of the fuel and water tanks, etc, so that the rear end may be wedge shaped, the

operating mechanism however being exactly the same.

In Fig. 2 the crane located on track C is swung to its swinging limit for picking the ballast between the tracks, and by ref erence to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the boom does not project into the clearance space (indicated by the dotted lines on track D nor does the cab project beyond its individual right of way clearance lines.

On track A the crane is shown swung to the predetermined swinging limit for ditching, and as the clearance lines are indicated on track B it will be obvious that it will not interfere with or hinder traff c thereon, as itdoes not project beyond its individual right of way clearance lines.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that we have designed and perfected a locomotive crane and process which can be safely used for ditching and ballast cleaning operations, without obstructing or hindering traffic on the track right of way adjacent thereto.

lVhat we claim is 1. A locomotive crane comprising in combination with the truck and platform a super-structure having a turntable rotatable directly above the platform, a boom and actuating mechanism for the boom, the platform having an arcuate slot and a guide connected with the turntable and adapted to travel in said slot upon rotation ofthe turntable.

2/ A locomotive crane comprising in combination with the truck and platform a super-structure having a turntable rotatable above the platform, a boom and actuating mechanism for the boom, horizontally spaced stops on the platform and yielding means on the turntable and operating between the said stops for limiting the swinging movement of the turntable relatively to. the platform, said element being yieldable in the direction of the rotary movement of the turntable for cushioning the same.

3. A locomotive crane comprising in combination with the truck and platform a super-structure having a rotary turntable, a boom and actuating mechanism, a stop fixed on the platform, and an element yieldingly carried by the turntable and movable into and out of engagement with the said stop and adapted to limit upon engagement with the stop the rotary movement of the turntable relatively to the platform, said element being yieldable in the direction of the rotary movement of the turntable for cushionin the same.

Hit)

iii!

l. locomotive crane comprising in combination with the platform and truck a super-structure having a rotary; turntable, a boom and actuating mechanism for the boom, a stop element fixed to the platthe platform having an arcuate slot, a slide form, a companion stop element carried by adapted to travel in said slot, stops mounted the turntable, and shock absorbing means on the platform at the ends of the slot, and carried by the turntable for yieldingly means for connecting said slide with said limiting the relative movement between turntable. 1 turntable and platform. In testimony whereof We atfix our signa- 5. A locomotive crane comprising in comtures. bination With the truck and platform a super-structure having a rotary turntable, a JAMES C. WHEAT. l0 boom and actuating mechanism for the boom, CLARENCE E. LOTT. 

